Even light alcohol use is linked with increasing the risk of several leading cancers, including those of the breast, colon, esophagus, and head and neck, according to recent research reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The society cites between 5% and 6% of new cancers and cancer deaths globally as directly linked to alcohol. “People typically don’t associate drinking beer, wine, and hard liquor with increasing their risk of developing cancer in their lifetimes,” Bruce Johnson, the society’s president, said in a statement.

Previous research suggests that even moderate alcohol consumption can take a toll on your brain. A study published last June in the British Medical Journal monitored 550 adults over 30 years, starting in 1985, and found that drinkers who imbibed as little as four pints of strong beer or five large glasses of wine a week were three times more likely to have parts of their brain atrophy.

The more the study participants drank, the faster their brains deteriorated, and cognitive tests revealed steep declines in brain functioning.

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Oh, so I don't have to be sorry that I all but stopped - I'm down to the level of one glass of wine at a social meeting. I feel the pleasures of alcohol are much less than the trouble it takes to control your alcohol intake, to avoid drunken people, etc.